AFTER a long season it takes a little while to adjust to ‘normal life’ once again.

Usually you are in on the Monday to review the weekend’s game, then you build your whole week towards winning the next one on Saturday.

This week we have the rare luxury of a weekend off, and the staff and players have taken advantage of that for a few days away in the sun.

I think that shows the togetherness of the current group we have at the club, something that has been a massive help this season.

Everyone gets along very well and over the last few days we have had a chance to get away from the football.

We have been able to chat in an informal way and just relax after working so hard for so long across the season.

We ended the season on a very positive note with three good wins, the last one against Shrewsbury on Sunday.

I had asked the players to finish the season strongly because it sets the tone for next season and gives the supporters something to look forward to over the summer.

We put in a good performance against Shrewsbury and it was great to walk around the pitch and see every fan staying in their place to applaud the players.

I’d like to thank the fans for that – the players deserved the ovation and I know they appreciated it very much.

With the awards evening that night I went for a quiet drink by the river that afternoon.

Little did I realise that the ‘Sambuca Boat’ full of Oxford fans was still there and heading back to the city centre.

I had to laugh because they pretty much left me alone while giving Andy Whing about half an hour’s worth of songs!

Again, it was all in good spirits and good fun.

The awards evening itself was a fantastic night and I’d like to thank the organisers for setting it all up.

‘Easty’ deservedly won the Supporters Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year – he has been the model of consistency and had a great season.

It was also nice to see some of the people who don’t always court the limelight receive awards as well – Richard Blackmore and our kit man Mark Jarrett in particular.

It has been a team effort and once the dust settles, the hard work will start again for next season.

IT WAS no surprise to see that the first legs of the League One play-offs were very tight on Thursday night.

Bradford beat Fleetwood 1-0 and Millwall and Scunthorpe drew 0-0, so just the one goal so far.

They are four very good sides and I’d imagine the message from all of their managers was to still be in the tie at the end of the first game.

You can undo all you have achieved in the previous 46 league games if you aren’t careful.

The drama and excitement always come in the second leg and it is still too close to call.